Hello!

My name is Tess and I'm a new Regeneration corps member starting off this spring. For the next few months, you might see me composting or tending various gardens in the greater New York area, hopefully with the help of NYC's youths and environmentalists-in-training.  First, I'll just say thanks to all of you for participating in this community and for letting me be part of it.

Currently, I'm an NYU student majoring in environmental studies and philosophy, which is part of what led me to Leave it Better. But like many of you, I'm not just here because of school. There's a long, boring story about why I care about the environment. Here's the gist of it: remember when that guy made a movie about an inconvenient truth? Or when images of forlorn polar bears starting popping up on TV?  If you encountered these things and automatically felt a sense of crippling disappointment, you are not alone.  Little by little I started trying to do things that weren't patently contributing to the degradation of the environment. Shortly after it dawned on me that there were things I could do- easy things- that could suck the carbon out of the atmosphere, keep our water and air clean, and put a decent meal on the table.  Growing fruits and veggies, composting, and eating sustainable foods at home puts life back into the planet and keeps the polar bears swimming. I'm convinced that making an impact in small places- like schools,  means taking a dent out of climate change. And hopefully we can all agree that keeping the planet cool will keep the good times coming. Furthermore, if we can replace our happy meals with fresh foods, we stand a better chance of living long and well– some might say better than we ever did before.

That being said, I'm more than a little excited to get started this spring.  Regeneration is a great project, and I encourage everyone to check it out a follow along in the next coming weeks.  Many thanks to those that made it this far- you are very appreciated!